Equipment expenses?

[jta98z]

Hey guys. I'm drafting a business plan and have a question. I'm currently working full time in a corporate job, but really feel that my passion lies within automobiles. I have been doing a lot of research into going pro with my detailing. If my wife and I decide this is what we plan to do, we are going to move to a larger city where she will work full time and I will work part time and detail part time until I can go full time with detailing.

My biggest question is in regards to start up costs. Been reading Renny Doyle's book, and I agree with one of statements he made. In today's world, it is almost impossible to start with a bucket, soap, and some wax. To me, doing a professional job requires that I have all the supplies I need from the get-go. Steamers, extractors, generators, pressure washers etc. Well, I don't quite have $15k sitting aside for all these supplies etc.

What would you guy's advice be? Should I try and get a small business micro loan, personal loan etc?

The issue with a bank loan however, at least for my bank, is that they don't really provide loans to someone working part-time (which I will be when I first start.)

Any suggestions, advice, or comments you guys provide in the way of startup are much appreciated!

 

[Evan.J]

I started small and for every car I did I saved up and bought my equipment as I went along so I didn't have to worry about a loan. Now with every car I do I take half if wht I make and keep that for business thing and the other half in my pocket and it has been working well for me.

One thing I will say is that I highly recommend invest money in training.

 

[rustytruck]

Why would you move? I don't see how you would get a start in a new city. When you first start out it really helps to know a lot of people, that is where your customers will come from in the beginning. Word of mouth business is going to be hard to come by when no one knows who you are.

 

[jta98z]

I started small and for every car I did I saved up and bought my equipment as I went along so I didn't have to worry about a loan. Now with every car I do I take half if wht I make and keep that for business thing and the other half in my pocket and it has been working well for me.

One thing I will say is that I highly recommend invest money in training.

Oh no doubt. I plan to. I would loveee to sign up for Mike Phillip's Boot Camp but January is a bit soon for me. Thinking about going for the one next May. Chemical Guy's Smart Detailing University looks like a great experience as well. Is this the kind of training you're referring to?

 

[jta98z]

Why would you move? I don't see how you would get a start in a new city. When you first start out it really helps to know a lot of people, that is where your customers will come from in the beginning. Word of mouth business is going to be hard to come by when no one knows who you are.

Precisely. I'm moving back to the city where I do know everyone. I live in the middle of nowhere right now because I moved away from my home for my current job.

 

[Evan.J]

Oh no doubt. I plan to. I would loveee to sign up for Mike Phillip's Boot Camp but January is a bit soon for me. Thinking about going for the one next May. Chemical Guy's Smart Detailing University looks like a great experience as well. Is this the kind of training you're referring to?

Mikes boot camp for sure I would also look into Renny's training as well. These items will pay off an get you ahead if all your competion.

 

[jta98z]

Mikes boot camp for sure I would also look into Renny's training as well. These items will pay off an get you ahead if all your competion.

Oh heck yeah. Love Renny's book so far.

I've had a few curve balls thrown at me in regards to this training however. I, for one, am all for it. I believe that training and education are invaluable. So do others like yourself. A few others though seem to think that one would be better off saving their thousands of dollars for products and equipment and just use your own car/family's car as practice. They say you'd get just as much experience. Not quite sure I agree but hey...

 

[Evan.J]

Oh heck yeah. Love Renny's book so far.

I've had a few curve balls thrown at me in regards to this training however. I, for one, am all for it. I believe that training and education are invaluable. So do others like yourself. A few others though seem to think that one would be better off saving their thousands of dollars for products and equipment and just use your own car/family's car as practice. They say you'd get just as much experience. Not quite sure I agree but hey...

You could just learn yourself but learning to get your self to a level that you can perform at from training could take years.

When you learn hands on from those that are true professionals like Mike valuable experience. Yes, it's a huge cost upfront but with all the knowledge and skills that you do gain you can put those into practice right away and end up making that money back very quickly.

With Renny's training you can your wife can go of one price and both work and learn together. He offers a few different training classes but the 5 day one is IMO a no brainer. 4, 8 hour days on learning and training hands on learning everything under the sun in detailing and on day 5 learning how to run your business. Along with that you have a mentor which is huge in this business and is always something that is recommended.

 

[dcjredline]

Start small and stay away from debt... that is the best way to have a successful business. I always recommend this book to people trying to start up a business.

Dave Ramseys Entreleadership. its on sale right now for $10 EntreLeadership

 

[Evan.J]

Start small and stay away from debt... that is the best way to have a successful business. I always recommend this book to people trying to start up a business.

Dave Ramseys Entreleadership. its on sale right now for $10 EntreLeadership

:iagree: good advice there as well

 

[statusdetailing]

I started without any loans, I've gotta tell you, it was very very difficult. I lived with roommates and scraped by for a couple years, using all my spare money to buy equipment. In the summer I had weeks that were so hard and grueling that I wanted to lay down and die. In the winter, I nearly went into depression, doing everything I could just to get 2 or 3 cars a week.

Detailing is not as glamorous as it seems on the forums, at least not when you are starting out. It's almost impossible to get enough cars without doing dealer work. . . and car dealers, as far as I'm concerned, are some of the most dishonest conniving people in the world. I met one dealer that I liked and did a lot of work for him for about a year.

You'll almost never get more than $100 form a dealer. I don't care if it's a ferrari or a pinto. They are cheap and they expect top notch work.

Also, people with very dirty cars (the people who you will be mainly targeting at first, are the most demanding group of car owners. They spend years trashing their cars, and then expect you to fix them for very little money.

Despite, everything I just said, it's something that I believe you have to go through. It's a rite of passage in a way. You learn the limits of paint correction, working on swirled out trashed paint and you learn the limits of interior materials. You can only clean fabric, headliners, carpet etc so much before you start to cause damage. It's something you'll take with you, years down the road when you are working on expensive vehicles.

I also must mention that this is a profession where 20 to 30k incomes are average. The successful guys that you see posting a lot are probably making 30 to 50k. The extremely lucky ones in big cities are making 50-100k.
Only the real innovators make more than $100,000 per year. They develop products, methods, marketing schemes, and piggyback businesses that sometimes make more money than the detailing itself.

 

[VP Mark]

I started a thread a few months ago about how to start a mobile detail business around $500. Start with that, and put a lot of the money you make back into the business. Either that or get a couple of credit cards. They are the most personally available forms of credit available. You can't get a business loan from a bank unless you've been in business for a couple of years and have shown profit.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online

 

[jta98z]

I also must mention that this is a profession where 20 to 30k incomes are average. The successful guys that you see posting a lot are probably making 30 to 50k. The extremely lucky ones in big cities are making 50-100k.
Only the real innovators make more than $100,000 per year. They develop products, methods, marketing schemes, and piggyback businesses that sometimes make more money than the detailing itself.

I respect that you are in the business and you have first hand experience, but this seems a little hard to believe...

Granted, I'm not going into this expecting detailing to make me rich. I understand that this isn't a profession that does that. But I've known and met quite a few guys on here that I'm fairly certain should easily clear 30k a year...

I've known people who detailed part time until business grew and they could leave their job to go into detailing full time. I find it hard to believe someone would leave a job so that they could go into business full time making 20k a year.

 

[Pureshine]

I started without any loans, I've gotta tell you, it was very very difficult. I lived with roommates and scraped by for a couple years, using all my spare money to buy equipment. In the summer I had weeks that were so hard and grueling that I wanted to lay down and die. In the winter, I nearly went into depression, doing everything I could just to get 2 or 3 cars a week.

Detailing is not as glamorous as it seems on the forums, at least not when you are starting out. It's almost impossible to get enough cars without doing dealer work. . . and car dealers, as far as I'm concerned, are some of the most dishonest conniving people in the world. I met one dealer that I liked and did a lot of work for him for about a year.

You'll almost never get more than $100 form a dealer. I don't care if it's a ferrari or a pinto. They are cheap and they expect top notch work.

Also, people with very dirty cars (the people who you will be mainly targeting at first, are the most demanding group of car owners. They spend years trashing their cars, and then expect you to fix them for very little money.

Despite, everything I just said, it's something that I believe you have to go through. It's a rite of passage in a way. You learn the limits of paint correction, working on swirled out trashed paint and you learn the limits of interior materials. You can only clean fabric, headliners, carpet etc so much before you start to cause damage. It's something you'll take with you, years down the road when you are working on expensive vehicles.

I also must mention that this is a profession where 20 to 30k incomes are average. The successful guys that you see posting a lot are probably making 30 to 50k. The extremely lucky ones in big cities are making 50-100k.
Only the real innovators make more than $100,000 per year. They develop products, methods, marketing schemes, and piggyback businesses that sometimes make more money than the detailing itself.

:iagree: I started with 2k cash to buy all the stuff I needed to start my business. You should never start a small business in debit thats my opinion. I made good money this year and next year should increase by 10k if things go as planed.

 

[jta98z]

:iagree: I started with 2k cash to buy all the stuff I needed to start my business. You should never start a small business in debit thats my opinion. I made good money this year and next year should increase by 10k if things go as planed.

I need to do a bit more research it seems. As much as I love this, I can't support a family on 20k a year. I know it's not all about money but I need to find some realistic income expectations.

 

[statusdetailing]

Hey dude, I feel bad. I wasn't trying to scare you off or be negative. It's a tough business to get started, but you can definitely make money. It will probably take you a couple years, but with a ton of hard work you can get in the 40 to 50k range. If you are really good at networking and marketing and perfect your craft, I definitely think the 100k mark is attainable. You need to be in the right city and may need a helper or two, but it's attainable.

To be safe though, just don't plan on making more than about 20k for the first year or two, not that it's not possible to make more.

 

[jta98z]

Hey dude, I feel bad. I wasn't trying to scare you off or be negative. It's a tough business to get started, but you can definitely make money. It will probably take you a couple years, but with a ton of hard work you can get in the 40 to 50k range. If you are really good at networking and marketing and perfect your craft, I definitely think the 100k mark is attainable. You need to be in the right city and may need a helper or two, but it's attainable.

To be safe though, just don't plan on making more than about 20k for the first year or two, not that it's not possible to make more.

Thanks Jeremy. My plan, if it will work, is to start out part time and get another part time job at a body shop to learn all of the ins and outs of their business. I think that would be a valuable knowledge asset for a detailer to have.

 

[bigbadbp7]

Starting out is not really that expensive equipment wise. I spent roughly 800 bucks. Granted that is no extractor.

 

[Kenny94]

People don't plan to fail they fail to plan. You're off to a good start, asking questions and you're making a plans. IMO, I would avoid using your money, liquid cash or even your savings and so forth. If Banks are willing to load money, use it! Now, I'm not talking first and second mortgage loans. Business loans even personal loans. Sometimes credit cards have a introduced rate of 0% you might want to take advantage of this but, make sure you have a plan to pay that money back when your rate goes up.

The point I'm making is,,,,,always protect yourself first. I like the way you're thinking. Your wife will be working full-time for a corporation. I assume she'll have you on her health insurance.


What about disability insurance? Just something to consider,,,,, specially if the company you're working for now has that option long-term and short-term disability. Remember, your greatest asset is your ability to work!!

 

[thebamboo23]

Hey guys. I'm drafting a business plan and have a question. I'm currently working full time in a corporate job, but really feel that my passion lies within automobiles. I have been doing a lot of research into going pro with my detailing. If my wife and I decide this is what we plan to do, we are going to move to a larger city where she will work full time and I will work part time and detail part time until I can go full time with detailing.

My biggest question is in regards to start up costs. Been reading Renny Doyle's book, and I agree with one of statements he made. In today's world, it is almost impossible to start with a bucket, soap, and some wax. To me, doing a professional job requires that I have all the supplies I need from the get-go. Steamers, extractors, generators, pressure washers etc. Well, I don't quite have $15k sitting aside for all these supplies etc.

What would you guy's advice be? Should I try and get a small business micro loan, personal loan etc?

The issue with a bank loan however, at least for my bank, is that they don't really provide loans to someone working part-time (which I will be when I first start.)

Any suggestions, advice, or comments you guys provide in the way of startup are much appreciated!

There are a lot of guys off AG boards that are clearing more than 50K a year. Either they have been at this for 10+ years or their shop/business offers waaayyy more than just detailing services.. but again, TIME and EFFORT is what got them there

$15K is unnecessary. Are your plans to open a shop or what? i always advice to be mobile for the first 1 or 2 years as you get your name known around town and build up your skills/experience. youll have almost no overhead which is greaaattttttttttt. You dont need a water tank, generator, pressure washer, etc.. at least for when youre first starting off.

You need to master with what you have and as the jobs increase so will your equipment and prices you charge. you seriously dont need "top of the line" anything when first starting. but also none of that autoparts store products either

Dont get caught up in all the new products and tools that come out on the market. you dont need a $20 wax for daily drivers and a $90 wax for the show cars. thats not how its gonna be in the beginning

What tool, products, and equipment do you currently own?
What are your plans to buy with the loan?
shop or mobile?
what size shop/what mobile vehicle?
what training classes are you gonna attend?
how many full paint corrections have you performed?


There are TONS of great threads of starting a business. Not only on AG but other detailing boards as well. go through all of them. even if theyre 4 years old